Official UK procurement notice
C000949SNA Irish Street Development Scheme
Authority: Department for Communities (Central government)·On behalf of: Department of Finance Northern Ireland, Construction and Procurement Delivery
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Department for Communities (DfC) in conjunction with Newry Mourne & Down District Council (NMDDC) are seeking a development proposal for this site known as “Irish Street Development Scheme". The site is located within Downpatrick Town Centre, as defined within the Ards and North Down Area Plan and sits adjacent to the Primary Retail Core. The east end of the site falls within Downpatrick Centre Conservation Area, and the complete site lies within an area of Significant Archaeological Potential.
The overall objective of this Procurement is to attract high quality development proposals that meet both DfC & NMDDC joint objectives for a high quality multi use scheme that is commercially led and provides sustainable urban regeneration. The Authority recognises the contribution that Developers’ can make to urban regeneration in terms of innovative high-quality design, professional expertise and financing.
It is anticipated the appointed Developer will design, build, own and operate this Redevelopment Scheme.
The successful developer will enter into a Development Agreement under Licence with DfC to deliver this project. This Agreement will set out the contractual framework governing the development, including obligations, conditions, and procedural requirements.
The Developer will be responsible for all design work required to secure full planning permission and satisfy requirements of all other statutory bodies. The Developer will be responsible for all aspects of the construction of the works, in full compliance with the Development Scope, all relevant statutory regulations, and relevant legislation.
CPV: Architectural design services · Building construction work · Construction project management services · Construction work for multi-dwelling buildings and individual houses · Construction work of leisure facilities · Site preparation work
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Department for Communities buys Building construction work (CPV 4521), and who usually turns up
Department for Communities’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Building construction work (CPV 4521) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in Northern Ireland.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in Northern Ireland.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 29 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
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How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid27% / 31%
2–327% / 17%
4–645% / 19%
7+0% / 33%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate11% / 31%
Within ±2%56% / 14%
Above estimate33% / 55%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 4521Published estimate£13m
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How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 58 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid31%
2–317%
4–619%
7+33%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 21 Aug 2026, 14:22 BST
- Last source update
- 21 Aug 2026, 14:22 BST
- Authority reference
C000949SNA eTenders NI 6692698- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-079966- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e9b4Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
21 Aug 2026 → 1 Dec 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published62 days ago21 Aug 2026, 14:22 BST
- Market engagement35 days ago17 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
The Department for Communities (DfC) invites preliminary market feedback on the proposed procurement strategy for the appointment of a developer for this flagship regeneration project.
This engagement is to inform the market of the upcoming opportunity, provide an indication of interest in the opportunity and gain feedback in relation to the opportunity and the proposed procurement procedure
Please register with eTenders NI at etendersni.gov.uk/epps/getHomeDashboar… ↗ and use CFT ID No 6692698 to view documents and return the questionnaire provided.
- Tender notice expected22 days ago30 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract starts1 Dec 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published21 Aug 2026, 14:22 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
3 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- Department of Finance Northern Ireland, Construction and Procurement DeliveryBeneficiary authority
- CPD Construction DivisionProcess contact pointProcuring entityOrginasation acting for the Authority
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender